


What Friends are For

by SenkoWakimarin



Series: RomCom AU [1]
Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Romantic Comedy, Fantasizing, M/M, Masturbation in Shower, Post-Divorce
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-09-27 09:00:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20405101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SenkoWakimarin/pseuds/SenkoWakimarin
Summary: It's perfectly normal and not at all telling that David's thinking about Frank like this.





	What Friends are For

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kokopellifacetattoo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kokopellifacetattoo/gifts).

> Juice and I have been talking about a Liebercastle RomCom AU for months, and I needed something cute after all the angst I've been doing otherwise.

It had been a good day.

In a few months worth of bad days, following a string of recent days that, for one reason or another, had barely risen above 'tolerable', today had actually been... well, pretty damn nice. David hadn't really expected that; he expected today to be one of the worst in his life so far. When Frank had shown up out of the blue, he'd almost shut the door in his face. 

Not that he had a problem with Frank. Frank was… was fine, probably his best friend at this point, definitely his only friend who wasn't being asked to pick a side in the divorce. Frank was great, but David had expected to use today to start wallowing properly, and he couldn't be miserable around Frank. He'd liked hanging out with Frank too much -- he'd liked hanging out with Frank even back when 'hanging out' was more struggling to get himself awake when he fell asleep in the part of the offices that was cordoned off for remodeling while Frank stood over him in amused exasperation. 

David liked to work late -- harder to think about how much life in general and his life in particular sucked if he buried himself in code -- and Frank showed up at the job site early four days of every five, so it was inevitable when David started using the tarped-off end of the building as his own private Quiet Place that they'd run into each other. 

Meeting Frank had maybe been the first stroke of good luck in David's life since Sarah had asked for a divorce. Hell, since the months before she finally asked, when they started walking on eggshells around each other. David's life had been a long series of unpleasant to outright bad days for so long that the shock of meeting someone who was... well, who seemed to brighten the time he spent around him, it was almost eerie. 

But Frank had been nice. He was always nice, in a gruff, rough sort of very masculine way. Another man might have shouted or been annoyed finding David had gone to sleep on the big roll of under-carpet foam that was to be rolled out in the coming days, but Frank had -- well he'd laughed. Frank wasn't a laugh-a-minute kind of guy, his smile tended to be enough, but finding David hidden away had struck something and he'd been laughing when he shook David awake, laughed on and off through David sitting up and trying to drag himself to wakefulness, laughed again when David told him he worked in the office and had lost track of time.

It happened again. It happened several more times, was the thing, to the point where waking up to Frank's amused expression and a sore back started to be a normal thing. David worked too many hours, avoided going home to his lonely, over-priced little studio, hid in the construction area to grab a little sleep before clocking back in. 

Neither of them were looking for a friend, David doesn't think. But he hadn't said no when Frank asked if he wanted to grab a coffee across the street, thinking of nothing more than needing some caffeine to kick him back into gear. They talked, which David hadn't really expected, and Frank was... he was nice. And it was nice to be around someone who was unreservedly nice to him.

Then Frank brought him coffee to the office one day. Said he hadn't seen David in a while -- and David had been forcing himself to leave the building every night, because his lawyer gently, with the exhausted kindness of a man not being paid enough to be giving life advice, had informed him that showing up looking like he'd taken up homelessness as an off-hours hobby wasn't going to do any favours when custody came up. 

It had been -- it had been touching in a stupid, sad sort of way. Someone bringing him coffee because they'd been looking forward to seeing him, the idea of being something good in someone's life... it had hit him a lot harder than was probably appropriate, and after that he and Frank started talking more often, making time to see each other outside of work. Exchanged phone numbers.

Frank was a cool guy, was the thing. David had never met anyone like Frank. He was like an action movie hero mixed with a rom-com protagonist; energetic, charismatic, shockingly sweet on occasion. It was the tail end of November when they met, weather bitter and bleak, and Frank told him he was only working on building renovation because it paid bills during the winter; spring and summer it was outdoor building construction all the way.

He was smart, read books and knew poetry well enough to recite bits of it, and when David had asked why he'd gone into construction, he'd winked and said he was 'good with his hands'.

David imagined, as consistently as Frank seemed to be able to get a date, he wasn't unduly bragging. Frank was the first openly gay friend David had had since college, and David figured it was probably a good thing he didn't seem interested in any kind of relationship outside of the hookups he frequently indulged in, because David might have tried something that was definitely inadvisable in the middle of his divorce.

Frank was a good friend for David. He dragged him back into the world, gave him something to look forward to besides booze and sleep. 

So when proceedings for the divorce hearing had ramped up, Frank had started hanging around more. Moral support, he said. Frank had never been married, had never had a single long-term committed relationship, at least not that he'd mentioned to David. Frank slept with a different guy every few days, and David had barely dated anyone besides Sarah, so how it was that Frank could be so sympathetic to what David was going through, David didn't know. He just knew it was nice to have someone there to lean on who didn't mind the leaning. 

Yesterday, he and Sarah had finally filed the paperwork with the court. The divorce was officially in the hands of the New York City judicial system, and by any metric David can imagine measuring with, he was no longer a married man at all. 

His plan had been to use his PTO to go on a week long proper depression-session drink-a-thon, like he hadn't done since his mother died three years ago. His plan had been to be alone in his apartment and acclimate himself to the hollow freedom of being single. His plan had been to let himself be miserable in the most self-destructive way he knew how to be, because despite filing amicably, this was the last thing David wanted.

Frank had shown up before noon, waking David up by banging on the door, and dragged David out. It was just starting to warm into spring, now, and Frank steered him to some hole-in-the-wall diner he claimed had the _ best _ pancakes. He bought David breakfast, told him over coffee that he needed help buying and setting up a decent computer because his laptop finally, as he said, "shit the bed". He wanted to buy something off the shelf, and that probably would have more than done it, but David suggested building something just because it meant an excuse to stay out of his apartment.

Spending the day shopping for parts and putting something together to suit what Frank wanted hadn't been David's plan at all. Sitting in Frank's apartment on the floor with parts around him, building a tower that would probably exceed what Frank was looking for hadn't been the plan at all, but David didn't feel bad about it.

It felt kind of good, honestly. 

Frank had bought them take out and they'd eaten on the couch, watching Netflix on the freshly assembled computer. Aside from a beer with his chicken subgum, he hadn't had a single drink. It wasn't until he'd gotten home a few minutes ago that he'd thought about how miraculous it was to just have had a good day. 

Even coming back to his small, empty, lifeless little apartment at the end of the night hadn’t felt as unpleasant as usual. He’s going to shower, clean up, and go to bed on a good note. He can be miserable tomorrow, maybe. Tonight, he wants to let himself feel good. It’s been way too long, and he deserves this. 

He'd thanked Frank, ostensibly for the food, but really for the day. It wasn't the kind of thing you could really say without making it awkward -- thanks for giving me something to do today other than self destruct -- but somehow in the way Frank had paused before smiling and nodding, David thinks the message went through. 

"Hey, anytime," he'd said, and it had made David feel that warm, homey sort of pleasure that came with understanding someone genuinely cared. They were friends, and that's what friends did. 

Thinking about it now though… thinking about the way Frank smiled, the sincerity in his dark eyes, thinking about the strength and care in his hand when he squeezed David's shoulder, the way it always made David's heart hitch a moment when they touched… 

He hasn't really examined any of this since Frank sort of fell into his life. The warmth he feels thinking about him, the simple, easy going kindness that still made David feel wanted, somehow, wanted and special. Having someone he looked forward to talking to, who didn’t try to handle him with kid gloves or give him judgemental eyes now that he was getting divorced.

Frank didn’t expect him to be or do anything other than he was ready to be. 

This isn’t what he should be thinking about right now. The shower’s starting to go cold and he’s had a routine long enough that he’s decently chubbed up despite having done little but soap up and wash his hair. Time to stop thinking about Frank so he can take care of -- yeah. 

Though, it’s not exactly the worst thought. It’s not exactly… outside the realm of possibility, hooking up with Frank. Frank hooked up with guys all the time, David’s a guy, wouldn’t even have to troll Grindr to set something up. They were friends, that was… that was something friends did sometimes, right? Not any of David’s friends so far, but he’d been dating or married to Sarah, so… 

He doesn’t want to think about Sarah right now. Thinking about Frank was a little weird, but Sarah was just… just sad.

Frank would be good though, David was sure of it. Nice big work-rough hands, probably pushy, took what he wanted. He had a certain friendly sort of aggression that probably translated really well in sex, very take-charge. He’d corner David in the shower like this, right against the tile, jerk him off fast and hard. He’d bite if they kissed, pull on David’s hair. He’s shorter but heavier, it wouldn’t be hard for Frank to pin David to the wall, hold him right there until he gave it up, biting at his neck and making that grumbling noise he made when David said something he liked when David takes him in hand too --

Orgasm hits him like a freight train, the barely-warm water washing all evidence immediately away as David gasps, wide eyed in the aftermath.

That was unexpected. 

After a minute, he shuts off the water and makes himself dry off and get out of the shower. A stiff drink sounds like a solid idea, but it’s 10PM and that seems a little late to start wallowing, which he’s realistic enough to admit he will do, given the chance. Better to just skip to the ‘sleeping it off’ part.

Naked, he grabs his water bottle out of the fridge and drops into his bed, staring at the ceiling for a long time and trying very hard not to think.


End file.
